Swim togs and goggles will soon be swapped for gumboots and overalls at Wānaka Recreation Centre (WRC) when its aquatic facilities undergo a deep clean and preventative maintenance.

All three pools will close temporarily from Saturday 24 July to Sunday 1 August to allow staff and specialist contractors to complete the work. This is the first such closure since the pools opened in July 2018 and does not affect the indoor courts or other facilities at WRC which will remain open as normal.

All memberships will be suspended to compensate for the closure. Members can continue to use Alpine Aqualand (Queenstown Events Centre) as normal as per the terms of their membership contract.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) Sport and Recreation Manager Simon Battrick said the timing had been chosen to minimise the impact on pool users.

“We’ll be open with daily activities for all but the last weekend of the winter school holidays and then our regular aquatic programmes, including QLDC Swim School, will restart in the second week of term three,” he said.

“We’ve worked closely with our regular clubs and groups to find them alternative pool space where required and several have told us that they’ll be able to make good use of a week off.”

The nine-day closure is the minimum duration required to shut down all plant and completely drain the lap, learners’ and adult hot pools before refilling, treating and heating the pool water once the work has been completed.

Specific tasks include cleaning and inspecting pool liners and connections, cleaning all filters, a deep clean of the pool hall floor and hard-to-reach areas, servicing plant room equipment, flushing water treatment lines, and conducting condition assessments of filter material and mechanical pumps.

“Whilst a big undertaking, this work is normal maintenance that all aquatic facilities need to maintain efficiency and reduce the chance of unexpected issues,” said Simon.

“Our team is raring to go, brushes and spanners at the ready, so we’ll be back cleaner, brighter and better than ever!”

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